Rating: 
Summary: from a parent who reads kids books
Review: I love to read kids books. I have collected them since... well since I was a kid. I have most of the booksI had when I was a kid, (of course I wish I had the few I lost) and I still buy them and read them and save them for my son. He will be enjoying Dads extensive library some day. This book is one of 3 current books from this author , none of them having anthing to do with the other so they are not a series.This was totally different than "Secret of Platform 13" and is nmot the samecharacters or location. This story has a bit of romance and might appeal more to girls than boys, but if boys will stick it out they will enjoy the overall book. Great bits about some fumbling old witches that can't seem to get things right, a young adult white witch that can't help being good even if the other withces dislike her for it, and a dark wizard who really is not a bad guy after all. And his servants are really nice guys, you will wish you could have them as friends yourself. The young witch rescues a boy from an orphanage and they becoem fast friends. The book has a great ending, very satisfying. The writer is fun and humerous, and chooses words that make the story crackle and seem to play out in front of your eyes. Some scary stuff, but nothing to give you nightmares. I read the story in a few hours straight sine I could not put it down. I can't wait until I read the "Island of Aunts".
Rating:
Summary: Incredible! Fantastic! One You've gotta read!
Review: Which Witch is a spectacular book written by Eva Ibbotson. Anyone who has not read this or the other two she has written (ISLAND OF THE AUNTS and THE SECRET OF PLATFORM 13) has missed out on very good books. I would recommend this book to readers aged 8-88+. The three are great in whichever order you read them.
WHICH WITCH is about a young boy who is a wizard. He is a black (does things that are not good) and the blackest wizard in the world. His name was George but after his parents found out he was a wizard they changed it to Arriman, after a famous and very wicked sorcerer... Arriman has a servant named Lester who is an ogre and a secretary named Mr. Leadbetter... One day Lester tells Arriman that he needs a wife so that he and his wife can have a baby wizard and he can take his place when he dies... He holds a contest among all of the witches in the nearest town by having them perform magic for him and three other judges. Who will win? Who is this mysterious witch? Read the book to find out!
Rating:
Summary: An Awsome book
Review: The book Which Witch was written in 1979. It is an awesome book. This book is funny, scary and sad all at the same time. It is about a boy and his name is George. Except his parents named him Arriman once they found out he was a wizard. When he was old enough he moved out and got a place of his own on the other side of town. Now he is called Arriman that great wizard of the north.
One day Lester (Arriman's secretary) told Arriman that he should go and see a gypsy that he once knew so he did. The gypsy told him that he must find a wife so that they can have a child and he can rule after Arriman dies. So he holds a completion to find the blackest wife. Blackest means that you are a bad witch but in a good way or that you do black magic.
There are 7 witches that joined the completion. One of them stands out from them all her name is Belladonna. She has blond hair, blue eyes and all of the animals hang out with her. Only she is a white witch who was supposed to be a black one. A white witch is a good witch. Belladonna really wants to marry Arriman and she will do anything to get him. Who will win? Read it and find out?
I really liked the book. Which Witch has a great plot and is easy to read. I would recommend that people 9 and up read it. It made me have many different emotions. I liked how I could not put the book down until I finished it. Which Witch is not like any other book that I have read. Since it is not boring and it keeps you up all night reading it trying to find out what happens next. It was suspenseful. It could make you want to read the last two chapters just to find out what happened even if you were not done with the book.
Some things I did not like about the book Which Witch was that it had some things that I could not understand even though it was easy to read. Which Witch also had some things that were in the book did not have to be in there and did not go with the rest of the story. But overall it was a great book and I would read it over and over if I had to.
Geraldine Brooks is a great writer and I believe that you should read the other books she has written, which are (Island of the Ants and The secrets of platform 13.) This 231 PG book is one that you must read. If not then you are missing out on a very good book. You may or may not like this book but I am pretty sure that you will. Read this book Which Witch and you will know what I am talking about.
Rating: 
Summary: Which Witch
Review: This novel was had a very unique plotline and interesting characters. It is a fantasy about one great wizard named Arriman the Awful who has decided he wants to marry a witch, so he hosts a tournament to find his new wife. The witches that live in Todcaster all are interested in the competition, so they prepare themselves for the day when they will perform the blackest (the most powerful and wicked) magic they can in order to prove themselves worthy of Arriman. The witches that compete are all black witches that do dark spells, except for one girl named Belladonna. She is a white witch, so she only performs pleasant spells. But she is in love with Arriman, so she decides to try the hardest she can to summon up the blackest piece of magic possible. In the end, she beats some tough competition and discovers that she has an inner darkness that had never shown before.
This 231- page book (paperback), written in 1979, was definitely worth reading. I would say that the characters were the most attention-grabbing aspect of the story. Each had a unique description and personality (I think that it would be a great play). Every one of the witches from the coven of Todcaster had a different background, such as Mabel Wrack, whose mother was a mermaid and father was a human, and who was always complaining about her dry scaly legs and carried around an octopus. The plot structure was pretty good, and it was easy to follow because the events didn't jump around. It was the kind of book that I didn't have to go back and read because I was confused.
I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys fantasy. On the cover of the book, it encourages you to read it if you love the Harry Potter series. Unlike Harry Potter, it is a bit slow and boring in the beginning, but it is very suspenseful and detailed towards the end.
My favorite part in the book is when Belladonna finally performs her black magic in front of the judges and Arriman. This event was a bit predictable, but afterwards, when everything is explained, we find out facts that were definitely not foreseeable at all!
The author's writing was very descriptive and visual. It was not hard to picture what each object or person looked like. Eva Ibbotson used so much imagination to write this story. It would be a shame not to read it!
Rating:
Summary: Read This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*********
Review: Deciding that he must marry to carry on his tradition of being the most evil wizard in the world. The great wizard Arriman the Awful announces a contest to be held in his town, Todcaster, to find the witch who can do the blackest magic. Seven witches enter. One witch wants desperately to marry Arriman, but there is one problem, she is a white witch. Every time she tries to perform black magic it turns into a flower, singing birds, or something good. During the competition the first four witches do horribly. One even ends up throwing a witch into a bottomless whole! The new witch in town goes second to last and receives a nine out of ten for her disgusting performance. So Belladonna (the white witch) meets a boy at an orphanage. She goes near the boy and his pet worm and makes the head of the orphanage stick to the ground! She finds out that whenever she is around this boy she can do black magic! Belladonna decides to take him with her and finally decides to do the blackest magic a wizard or witch can do, raising a dead person. When Terence (the little boy) finds out he does something great! Will Belladonna marry Arriman? Read this book to find out. In this book the theme is magic, good and bad. The conflict in this book is black witches against white witches or good versus bad. I would rate this book four stars because sometimes it was gross and bizarre, like when one witch preformed an act with rat cannibals. Some people though may want to read a book like this but I definitely would not. Lastly, Arriman becomes a nice wizard because he doesn't care that the witch that wins sometimes can't be black without a certain tool. Overall I liked this book.
Rating:
Summary: Fun for Harry Potter fans especially!
Review: Though this book was first written in the late 1970's, Which Witch is a delight for fans of JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels. Much like Rowling, Ibbotson introduces colorful characters that are easy to root for, or against. The entire novel centers around Arriman the Awful, the Wizard of the North. He has a long, wonderful career until he grows tired and longs for someone to take over for him. But since a suitable replacement can't be found, he's confronted with the fact that the only way to get an heir is to marry a witch and create one himself. The problem is that all the witches in Todcaster are horrible ugly, except one, who has been cursed with the fact she is a white witch that can only do good magic! (the horror). Since Arriman wants a baby who can take over being bad for him, poor Belladonna knows she can't win. The witches must complete for Arriman's hand. Whoever does that darkest magic wins. The problem is that the moment Belladonna sees Arriman for the first time she loves him completely. Will she be able to be evil in time? Though in bottled genie, a troubled orphan, a plucky earthworm, and an evil enchantress and you have wonderful mix. But don't discount this as just a children's book. While children will have a lot of fun with it, adults will have even more fun!
Rating:
Summary: Review.....
Review: Which, Witch? is a fantasy about witches and one wizard. The one wizards name is Arriman. He is one of the main characters along with six others. He has to chose between the six mean witches to become his wife. All of the witches have familiars, or pets, to help them with their spells. Arriman decides to host a contest to decide which witch to marry. Each witch has to do the most evil spell to win Arrimans heart. For most of the witches this was not difficult. For Belladonna this was very comlpicated because she is a careful and well-mannered witch. She was a white witch. All the rest are black withces.
Belladonna decides to do the most evil black spell to try to win Arriman's heart. The BIG problem because all of the other witches want his heart too! If you want to finish the story to see if Belladonna wins Arriman's heart, go to a library and pick up a copy.
This book is like a piece of artwork because of how the author put creativity, imagination, and an image that no other author could give this book. In the beginning it makes you think that you're in the book, for example: As soon as he was born, Mr and Mrs. Canker knew that their baby was not like other people's children. Like in all of her other books, Dial~a~Gohst, The Secret Platform of 13, A Journey to the River Sea have a beginning that takes you in and won't let you out. All of her books have that image that makes you want to keep on reading. I would reccomend this book to people who like witches, wizards, and magic.
Rating:
Summary: Book Was Great!
Review: Well when I was in Sweden I had this book read to me in Swedish. Well in Swedish it was called the Witch Tournament. Well keeping the title in mind I looked everywhere for the same one here in America. Of course I couldnt find it. When i finally did find the book though none of my teachers had heard of it so I gave them my copy and they read the book. They were fascinated by the fact it was so like Harry Potter but was published years before. Well all and all I would like to rate this book on a scale 1 - 5 as a 5+++++!!
Rating: 
Summary: Predictablity ruined the story
Review: As soon as the main characters of this story were introduced, the whole book became very predictable, ruining the want of finishing the book. The characters, like classic Roald Dahl style, are mostly overly-exaggerated, very few characters had much depth. Though having a bit of dry humor, I found it not so enchancing or funny. A charm-less book to me.
Rating:
Summary: Which Which? No problem there!!
Review: Which Witch? Belladonna has the answer to that one! She knows it's going to be her but what about prissy Madame Olympia or scaly Mabel Wrack, or repulsive Ethel Feedbag? Could it even be old, tired Mother Bloodwart or even the fighting twins? No, the contest held by Arriman the Awful is hoped to be won by Belladonna, and with the help of the promising Terrence Mugg, it might even happen! One problem though, she's a white witch and her chances of conjuring the needed black magic are slim! Read this amazing book and find out who wins and who the new greater wizard will be!!!
|
